Warhammer 40k:Canon

Canon\'ka-nen\ (n.) — a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works.

There is a huge number of publications on the Warhammer 40,000 universe, some released by Games Workshop and some fan-written. Here on the Warhammer 40k Wiki we only use information and images, charts or diagrams contained in the official publications of Games Workshop, Black Library, Citadel Miniatures, Forge World, White Dwarf or Fantasy Flight Games, as well as information and images drawn from all officially-licensed Warhammer 40,000 personal computer, mobile and console video games. We use these sources so that we are able to check in-universe facts, and so that people know where to find more information if they are interested in a subject or wish to view the original source of the information.

All sources for an article should be placed in a separate section at the very bottom of the article clearly labelled Sources using the Source or Visual editor's Heading 2 style. It is very important that all articles on this wiki be sourced and that ONLY officially published canon materials taken from the above approved sources be used to create articles. Fan-created works are fun and sometimes of high quality, but they have no place on this wiki. The only exception to this rule is in the extremely rare instance when fan-made art may be used where appropriate, if of sufficient quality as judged by an Administrator.

Fan-Made Artwork Exception

We no longer allow new fan-made artwork to be added to our pages except in very unique cases that requires permission from a wiki Administrator. Fan-made artwork is defined as any graphical image, diagram or chart that was not derived from one of the officially published sources listed above. However, as we did allow the use of such material in moderate amounts in the past, any fan-made art already present on our pages will be allowed to remain under a grandfather clause. This change in policy took effect as of January 1, 2013. This is a different approach from the one taken by the other Warhammer 40,000 wiki, the Lexicanum, which allows no fan-made artwork under any circumstances and only officially-used artwork, charts and diagrams on its pages. The editor and/or reader must decide for himself or herself which approach best suits his or her own tastes and interests. Below is the statement I once laid out describing the difference between the two philosophies:

I am aware of the fan-made art on this wiki; I authorised it. This wiki has always made use of and patronised fan art and will continue to do so. I am aware some dislike fan-made art and I understand your point of view on the matter; however, I do not share it, nor do most of our editors or administrators. Most of the pictures you highlighted I and many others like, including of the Imperial Guardswoman which I specifically allowed to remain in place to showcase a completely different style of art work for the universe, in this case anime. I have now removed that picture and replaced it with one of the ones you offered, as it has proven more controversial than I had hoped. However, we long ago made the decision to use fan-made art as we believe that "canon" does not include only official art. If you find this too deviant from what you define as canon, I perfectly understand that view, but again do not share it. Multiple artistic interpretations of the Warhammer 40,000 universe have always been a lively part of the hobby and we have chosen to showcase some of this artistic expression here. We can agree to disagree on whether the use of only official art is canon, but we have chosen to use fan-made art as well as fan-made models and miniatures to display certain aspects of the world and that will not be changing. In the case of certain alien species or other artefacts of the universe, when there is no official art for them, I am happy to make use of the artistic license and creations of others if such exist to serve as place holders or to display certain concepts with the fresh eyes of a different style than the standard Gothic works of official art; if those creations are later superseded by an official rendering or determined to not be within the realm of possibility even within the bounds of artistic license, they will be replaced.

As to the wiki "being made better through concerted effort" frankly, this wiki was resurrected from the dead by the already quite concerted efforts of people who have dedicated hundreds of hours of their time free of charge to bring it to its current state. While certainly I agree there is always room for improvement, and we are always engaged in such an effort as is the nature of all wikis, I do not agree with your suggestion as being an improvement and find this wiki, in my admittedly biased opinion, to be already simply the best repository for Warhammer 40k information on the Internet and one that will only grow better with time using our current policies.

My suggestion would be if if you find this unpalatable, then you should patronise the Lexicanum, as they are a wonderful wiki that is more well-established and has many more pages than this effort and whose guidelines may be more in line with your own vision for a Warhammer 40k wiki. Montonius 10:07, November 7, 2011 (UTC)